Back to news
30 Mar 2018 | Announcements

SDC HUC Focus Grants: Call for Proposals

5 mins Read

70% Complete

Call for Proposals

Date of circulation: 30 March 2018
Original deadline: 7 May 2018
Extended deadline: 21 May 2018

Background

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is home to 240 million people in the mountains and hills, and around two billion people in the river basins with their headwaters in the HKH. It has the largest body of ice outside the polar regions, covering an area of more than 60,000 km2. Hence, the HKH region is sometimes referred to as the Third Pole. The glaciers, ice fields, and snow packs provide important intra- and inter- annual water storage facilities, and the mountains are often called the “water towers” of Asia. They are the major source of surface water and groundwater during the dry season and play a significant role in agriculture and food and energy security. Around one billion people live in the three large transboundary basins in the region – the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. These rivers have their sources in the HKH mountains, and are shared across borders between Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Climate change studies increasingly suggest that the effects of glacial melt, temperature variations, and erratic monsoon patterns will reduce the availability of water in the region and lead to a greater frequency of floods and droughts.

Globalization and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. Mountain and downstream communities are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts and are in pressing need of effective adaptation and mitigation measures. The resilience and adaption capacities of communities and ecosystems need to be strengthened through adaptation mechanisms that are built on both indigenous knowledge of autonomous adaptation and strong scientific evidence. Appropriate policies and practices, and innovative livelihood improvement and sustainable natural resource management strategies need to be developed through a strong partnership between scientists, policy makers, and practitioners.

Universities and research centres play a key role in generating, sharing, and disseminating knowledge on climate change and providing evidence for effective climate change impact mitigation policies and practice. They also play a key role in filling in crucial knowledge gaps and infusing technical content into public discourse that can help influence policy makers and public opinion. The Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) was founded in 2007 with a mandate to develop an effective, sustainable network of universities in the HKH, for collaboration with academic, research, and knowledge generating and exchange institutions both within and outside the HKH region for sustainable mountain development. Its founding member, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICMOD), hosts the HUC Secretariat as part of one of its Regional Programmes –  Mountain Knowledge and Action Networks. The Consortium has expanded its network to 47 full members in eight HKH countries and 15 associate members in OECD and other Asian countries (Annex 1). Through initial activities such as Small/Seed Grants, Exchange/Mobility Grants, and ICIMOD PhD/Doctoral Fellowship Programmes, members have increased their ownership and commitment. Nine HUC Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) have been established and initial steps are being taken to build regional collaboration on research and training for sustainable mountain development across the Consortium (Annex 2).

In order to assist the consolidation and sustainability of the network, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has provided a two-year grant to HUC as part of the Second Phase (2016–2019) of the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP). The initiative is called HUC SDC Focus Grants and aims to contribute to IHCAP’s objective of advancing knowledge on climate science and promoting effective and sustainable adaptation measures. It seeks to upscale the impacts of interventions made by IHCAP to the larger HKH region and promote regional collaboration between institutions of higher education in India and those in neighbouring countries, under the continued support of Swiss expertise.

Thematic Areas & Requirements

The objective of the focus grants is to foster regional collaboration in higher education research and training in and for sustainable mountain development.

Institutional grant proposals are expected to focus on any of the nexuses among the thematic areas of Climate Change Sciences and Adaptation Measures: Water, Ecosystems, Landuse, Air Quality, Gender, Migration, Food, etc.

Grant activities may range from primary data collection and analyses of existing data and preparation of international peer-reviewed publications, and development of adaptation strategies or policy briefs, to revising course syllabi/curricula, in any combination. However, trainings, workshops/conferences, exposure visits by faculties or students, and stand-alone curriculum building/revision are ineligible grant activities.

Applying (leading) institutions must be one of HUC’s Full Members (Annex 1). The proposal must also fulfill the following:

Previous grantees of HUC Seed/Seedling Grants are strongly encouraged to apply.

Funding And Duration 

Depending on the scope of the proposed activities and the size of partnership, funding ranges from USD 20,000 to USD 35,000 per grant for a duration of 12 to 15 months, starting 15 June 2018. Three to four grants will be awarded.

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by an independent panel of climate change and adaptation experts, according to the following criteria.

Procedures to Apply

Please register online at huc-hkh.org/user/register

Further to apply for the grant, please follow the link below:

huc-hkh.org/grant/detail/sdc-huc-focus-grants-2018

The application must be submitted by 17:00, Nepal Standard Time on 21 May 2018.

Please send you queries are to The Himalayan University Consortium Secretariat huc@icimod.org

Important Dates

Deadline for submission of proposal: 21 May 2018
Notification of Selection: 15 June 2018
Grant contract signing: 1 July 2018
Inception Meeting in Kathmandu (Nepal): 1 July 2018. Principal investigators of lead partners and selected participating partners are required to participate in the Inception Meeting.

 

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

10 Oct 2022 Announcements
Mountain Research and Development Vol 42, No 2: Addressing Challenges of Hazards, Risks, and Disaster Management in Mountain Regions

Healthy social–ecological systems in mountains are essential for reducing disaster risk and achieving sustainable development globally. This focus issue illuminates ...

18 Oct 2023 Announcements
Invitation for Bids

ICIMOD invites sealed bids from interested construction contractors registered in Nepal for construction/renovation of various civil works at the ICIMOD ...

29 Apr 2020 Announcements
Mountain Research and Development Vol 39, No 3 available online and open access

In this open issue, a MountainDevelopment paper presents effective ways of supporting girls’ education in rural Nepal. Papers in the MountainResearch ...

2 Nov 2020 Announcements
Call for papers: Pastoralism and Rangelands in Mountains

Mountain Research and Development invites transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary papers that address transformations affecting pastoralists and rangelands ...

16 Jun 2022 Announcements
Request for sealed bids: For supply and delivery of 5U tower servers at ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is issuing a request for sealed quotation to invite qualified and interested ...

26 Jun 2024 HIREAP
Call for Submissions: Showcasing sustainable practices of bioprospecting for green livelihoods

APPLY Here SUBMISSION GUIDELINES The Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action ...

28 Apr 2021 HUC
Call for vendors – HUC online portal

1. Background The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight ...

28 Apr 2025 Announcements
RFP: Consultancy services for conducting WEFE Nexus Assessment in the lower Mahakali River Basin

ICIMOD invites proposals from experts and organizations to conduct a WEFE Nexus assessment in the Lower Mahakali Basin to identify ...